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- Camus utilized The Stranger as a platform to explore absurdity, a concept central to his writings and at the core of his treatment of questions about the meaning of life. However, Camus did not identify himself as a philosopher. In fact, he abjured “armchair” philosophy and argued that sitting around and thinking was not enough.
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A list of important facts about Albert Camus's The Stranger, including setting, climax, protagonists, and antagonists.
- Part One: Chapter 6
A summary of Part One: Chapter 6 in Albert Camus's The...
- Character List
The protagonist and narrator of The Stranger, to whom the...
- Part One: Chapter 6
Nov 3, 2023 · The French-Algerian novelist Albert Camus’ book “The Stranger” (French: “L’Étranger”) was first released in 1942. It is a classic work of existentialist literature that addresses themes of...
- Tanvi Sethi
Jan 6, 2024 · Discover 10 reasons to read Camus' 'The Stranger', exploring its existential themes, cultural impact, and timeless insights into human nature.
- Francesco Saviano
- The Stranger Themes
- Analysis of Key Moments in The Stranger
- Style, Tone, and Figurative Language
- Symbols
Alienation/Isolation
Meursault is the titular example of alienation from oneself, society, and nature. He separates himself from othersby his inability or unwillingness to connect on a deep level. His emotions are stilted and often nonexistent. He continually presents himself awkwardly, or not as those around him expect. Meursault has no desire to say goodbye to his mother or connect with the mourners in the room with him. He thinks at one point, “it was hard for me to believe [the mourners] really existed”. Afte...
Meaninglessness of Life
As a reader learns from Meursault’s first-person narration, he does not find life to be meaningful. He rejects religious meaning and secular whenever it comes his way. There is a particularly poignant moment in which Meursault’s boss becomes angry at him for not showing more excitement over the possibility of moving to Paris. To Meursault, one city is as good as another. He reacts the same way to Marie’s proposal, his trial, the complexities of the legal system, and eventually, his death sent...
Sadness
Sadness or a lack of sadness permeates the novel. It begins with a funeral. At the home, there are mourners, one of which is so sad she won’t stop crying. Meursault feels none of the same emotion. His lack of emotion at the funeral comes back to haunt him at his trial when witnesses testify to his uncaring attitude. As he kills the Arab Meursault says that it felt like “knocking four quick times on the door of unhappiness”. He knew exactly what he was getting into, but embraced it anyway. Oth...
Meursault goes to the beach and movies with MarieHe is invited to dinner with Raymond, hears his story, and writes a letter for him.The next day Raymond assaults his girlfriend and the police stop him.The Stranger is filled with multilayered symbols and enunciated through Camus’s straightforward writing style. He uses figurative language minimally and gets straight to the point of what Meursault is feeling (or not feeling) and saying. The first line of the novel is a famous, poignant example: “Mother died today. Or maybe yesterday, I don’t know”...
The Sun
The sun is an oppressive force on the novel. It’s nearly unbearable at the beginning of the novel as the funeral procession moves towards the cemetery and almost kills Thomas Perez. When Meursault is about to murder the Arab he places some of the blame on the sun. It was, he states, as though “the whole beach, throbbing in the sun, was pressing on [his] back”. The sun presses him forward toward his fate. It is an ever-present force in the novel that he can’t escape.
The Crucifix
Towards the end of the novel, while Meursault is speaking with the magistrate, he pulls out a crucifix. He asks Meursault to examine his faith and brandishes the item almost like a weapon. It represents a specific world view that Meursault does not adhere to, but which makes up one of the two conflicting points of view in absurdist philosophy.
The Sea
Throughout The Stranger, Meursault returns to the sea. He is there when he meets up with Marie the day after getting back from his mother’s funeral. It is a symbol of happiness, relief, and respite from the heat. The most physically joyous parts of the novel take place in or near the sea. When he, Marie, and Raymond are on the beach at Masson’s house the same pleasure can be seen as they move in and out of the water.
Mersault’s struggle, a conflict he feels between social belief in a rational existence and his own perception that actions and experiences are meaningless, forms the work’s major conflict. Other characters feel and react appropriately to situations. Their actions contrast starkly with Meursault’s.
The best study guide to The Stranger on the planet, from the creators of SparkNotes. Get the summaries, analysis, and quotes you need.
Sep 25, 2024 · The Stranger follows the life of Meursault, a Frenchman living in Algeria whose apathetic responses to life get him in trouble socially and eventually result in his death. It is concerned with the absurd and with the French colonization of Algeria.
